Ilyas Amanov, an economics teacher with years of experience, is combining his expertise with skills learned during a U.S. study program on agricultural practices to improve agriculture in his own country, Turkmenistan.

Today Kristina Kolesnikova manages tourist programs at Ayan Tourist and Travel Company, one of the leading tour operators in Turkmenistan. The 19-year old says that she got this job because of her participation in a USAID entrepreneurship training program.